Hay-press.



PATEN TED J AN 22 A. B. MULLER.

HAY PRESS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. 190B.

5 sums-sum 1.

PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907.

A. E. MULLER.

HAY PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.9.1906.

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E in .QN \N PATENTED' JAN. 22, 1907'. A. B. MULLER.

HAY PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APR- 9. 1906.

5 shnnrssnnm 3v PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907.

A.B. MULLER.

HAY PRESS. APiLIUATION FILED APR.9'.1906.

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' PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907.

A. E. MULLER.

HAY PRESS. APPLICATION IILF-D APB.9.1906.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

. 51 z 3 W; f a f l 5 2% i m MM 1 01%,; 02 1 Z 6 6 j 1 1 kg W? m, 5 1 Z 5% 1 0 0 7 a 9 f 9W 5 W1 i 0% z 4 m J UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFIoE.

TO THOMAS J. HRUBY', OF CHICAGQ,I'LLINO1S.' I

H Y-PRESS.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Applicationfiled April 9, 1906- Serial H0. 310.825-

rec nted Ian. e2, 1907.

To cal] whom/it may concern: I

Be it known that I, AUGUST E. Mi'ILLER, a L citizen of the Argentine Republic, residing at Chicago, in the county of'Qoo'k and State of 5 Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hay-Presses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying draw ii1gs, a'nd to-the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form'a part ofthis specifica-I trating the wire-holding disk, the twistingtion.

This invention relates to improvements in baling-presses for baling hay, straw, and the like; and the invention consists in the mat-' ters hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide novel mechanism for continuously feeding the hay or like material from a He or stack to thc'machine, to provide a novel tying each bale as it is formed, thereby avoid-.

mg the necessity of-manua'l labor for this purpose and avoiding the use of separatiomblocks to separate the "bundles of hay constituting the bales, and to provide other, improvements in baling or pressing chambers, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Inthe drawings, Figure 1' is a side elevation of a baling-machine,"partially broken away, showing my improvements. Fig. '2 is. a horizontal section thereof. Fig.3 is a vertical section of theTp'rincipal portion of the machine. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 3. Fig. 4 illustrates the mechanism for advancing-the materialto the feedhopper. Fig. 5 illustrates one of the fingers or claws constituting part of said mechan-' ism. Figs. 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views illustrating the manner of forming the; tie- Wire around the bale and the manner in feed-. hopper and means for-"operating the same to intermittently deliver the material tor the feed=chamber of the ;machine, to provide 5 which said wire is twisted. Fig. 8 is a detail illustrating the twisting mechanism and the means for intermittently operating the same. Fi 9 is a cross-section taken through the ba lug-chamber, showing the means for threading the 'wire across the baling chamber-to the twisting mechanism. Fig. 10 illustrates one of the disks carrying the mechanism for holding one end ofthe binding-wire. Fig. 11 is a section illustratin the twisting mechanism. Fig. 12 is a detai section illusplate, and the knot-severing knife.

Fig. .13 1s a detail view illustratin tory to twistingthe same. Fig. '14 is a side elevation of said parts, illustratingv inside elevation the wire-holding detent. Fig. 15

the manner of holding the loopedend of t e wire prepara-.

is a detail illustrating the mechanism for threading the binding-wire through the baling-chamber and the means for operating'the same. Fig. 16 is a vertical transverse sec tion taken on line-16 16 of Fig. 3. Fig. 17 is a partial lan view of the feed-hopper, showing the'p unger for forcingthe material from the hop erto the receivin han1ber.

- The ame of the mac e comprises an elongated honizontalopen chamberor casing 20 20. Said casi is longitudinally divided into a baling-cham er 21, a receiving-chamr open on both ends and supported on wheels her-22, open at its top and through which material to be baled is delivered'from a su erjacent feed-hopper, and a chamber 23, w ich incloses a portion of the plunger-actuating mechanism. The baling-pliin er 24, which com resses and ives form to t e material in the aling-cham er-,"=is.actuatedby a novel mechanism. having. the form of a ratchet- Said rack is provided with a double row of teeth or cogs adapted for alternateaenrgagement by a ro tative pinion fixed t0 the p I and the rack-bar is provided with suitable guides for guidi the pinion from the upper to the lower (an vice versa) of said double row of gear-teeth, whereby-rotation of said pinion causes the rack-bar and plunger toreliving-shaft,

ciprocate forwardly and backwardly toward and from the balin -chamber. The particular form of mechanism herein illustrated as embodying this feature of my invention is made as follows: v

28 28 designate two parts of a divided driving-shaft, which are mounted in suitable bearings 29 29 and extend through the side I walls 30, Fig- 2, of that part of the casing Said power-shaft is provided at one end with a belt-pulley and at its other end with a' balance-wheel 36. The upper and lower gear-teeth comprising the double rowof teeth referred to are designated as 40 40, Figs. 3

and 3, and are formed on the upper andlower faces of laterally-directed longitudinal flanges 41., located centrally of the rack-bar.

Said upper and lowerrow of-teeth are connected at the ends of the series by curved series of teeth or cogs 40 whereby the pinion -may pass from one row of teeth to the other.

Inasmuch as the arrangement herein shown provides for a divided driving-shaft 28, two sets of upper and lower gear-teeth are provided, one on each side of thrack-bar, and are engaged by pinions 43 43 on'the inner ends of the two members of the shaft. In order to maintain said ear-pinion in mesh with the gear-teeth at a times, the said double row .of gear-teeth is inclosed or surrounded by guide-flanges 42. (See Fig. 3.)

It will be understood that the construction of the rack-and-piriion mechanism described embracing the double row of oppositely-directed teeth, and with which the pinion has alternate engagement, may be varied in its construction so long as the main operative features mentioned are retained.

The material to be baled is fed to the machine through a feed-chute, comprising a bottom wall 45 and side walls or guards 46, by means of an endless conveyer or belt 45*, trained about pulleys at the ends of the chute, the upper ones 47 of which are the drivingpulleys and are fixed to the power-shaft 34. In the event that-the material to be baled is taken from a stack or pile located above the level of the supporting-surface of the machine an. inclined feeding device (indicated as a whole by 48) may be employed, comprising a suitable frame that is hinged to the side walls of the conveyer, in which travels an endless conveyer 49, having fingers 50, that are adapted to pull the material from the stack or pile and drop it upon the conveyer 45.

4 The conveyer 49 is trained about upper and .lower pulleys 51 51, mounted in'the frame,

and is driven bya sprocket-belt 52, trained about the lower pulley 51, and a sprocketsenses wheel 53, which is herein shown as rotated from a disk 28*, fixed to one of the members of the driving-shaft by direct gear or other suitable connections.

The material to be baled is delivered from the conveyer 45 to a centrally-located feedwa comprising a bottom wall 54 and side walls 55, and from said feedway the material is directed to a suitable hopper located over the receiving-chamber of the press. The hopper comprises a suitable framelocated over the opening in the top wall of the receiving-chamber 22, consisting of upright and horizontal members 56 57, respectively' 0 en at its side toward the runway and c osed at the opposite side thereof by a stashown, and as a further feature of the invention, the said bottom wall of the hopper-comprises integral arts of flexible side walls, one portion of sai bottom being made part of one side wall and the other portion thereof being made part of the other side wall, and said side walls are'connected with means whereby they may be drawn upwardly, thereby drawing the members of the bottom wall outwardly away from each other to open the hopper to the receiving-chamber. When the side walls are released from the mechanism that draws them upwardly, they may be returned to their lower ositions to close the bottom of the hopper y gravity, and such means of return are herein shown. The hopper-frame is provided with suitable guides to guide the flexible side and bottom walls in their movement. i

As more clearly shown in Fig. 16, 59 59 designate thetwo members of the bottom walls of the hopper described, and 59 59*" the side walls thereof, which are made parts of said bottom walls. In other words, the two side walls and the two bottom walls are madeof flexible members which meet at the center 'of thehopper, and by drawing the side walls upwardly in the guides referred to said bottom walls move outwardly to permit the material being baled to drop into the receiving-chamber below. The construction of the flexible walls, as herein shown, comprises slats connected together in any suitable manner, as by means of a webbing to which'the slats are attached. The means herein shown for thus raising the flexible said flexible side walls of the hopper.

walls of the hopper are made as follows: 60 designates a rock-shaft that extends transversely across the top .of thehopper-frame and is mounted in suitable bearings thereon. Said rock-shaft is provided at its ends with radial arms '61. 61, which are connected, by means of cords or cables .62, with jtllirsa shown, said cables are trained about pulleys 63 63, attached to the upper margins of said walls, and. said cables are fixed at their members of the hopper-frame, Fig. 3.

other ends} at 64 to the upper horizor itlal e rock-shaft 60 is rocked in its bearings through the medium of connecting bars or links 65, Fig. 1, connected at their upper ends with the rock-shaft arms 61 and at their lower ends with crank-disks 66, rotatively mounted on" studs 67, Fig. 2, fixed to the sides of the casing. The'said crank-disks 66 are intermittentlyrotated at the roper times;to raise said flexible side wal s and open the bottolii of the hopper through the medium of the following mechanism.

70 70, Figs. 1 and 2, designate horizontal shafts mounted in suitable bearings 71 at the sides of the machine and provided at their forward ends with beveled pinions 72 72,

- which mesh with beveled gear-teeth on the outer faces of the disks 28 28 fixed to the ends. of the divided-shaft 28, one of which has been hereinbefore referred to. Thesaid crank-disks 66' are formed with beveled gear-- teeth' which are adapted for engagement tivelymounted on the shafts 70. Said bevwith beveled pinions 73 73, that are rotaeled piniohs' 73 are normallyloose on said shafts, but are adapted to be temporarily locked thereto by suitable clutch devices for the purpose of intermittently rotating the disks 66. Ashere'in shown, said pinions are formed on sleev s 74 74, Fig. 2, which are rotatively moun ed on the shaft 70.

' 75 75 designate sleeves which are fixed 15 non-rotatively on the shafts and designed to 'slide endwise thereon, and said sleeves and the pimon-sleeves 74 are provided on their adjacent ends with clutch-teeth adapted to be brought intome'sh by endwise movement of the clutch-sleeves 75 to temporarily .lock the pinions to the shafts. The means herein shown for sliding said clutch-sleeve 75 into engagement with the toothed ends of the pinion-sleeves 74 consists of levers 76 76, Fig. 2, located outside the side walls of the receiv ing-chamber and provided at their forward ends withinwardly-turned parts 77 77. Said clutch-actuating levers are hinged to the side walls of said receiving-chamber by means of pins 78 78, extending-through said inwardlyturned parts 77 thereof and into bearingblocks'79 79," carried by said walls. The rear ends of said clutch-actuating levers outside Y I of. said walls are provided with outwardlyturned parts 80, which engage grooves in the g assoon as the plunger again start'sforwardly,

the rim matical y returned to its uppermost position close the hopper.

clutch-sleeves 75, thereby imparting endwise movement to the clutch-sleeves while permitting them to rotate. The inwardlyturned ends 77 of said clutch-levers are lo cated in the path of the rear end of the plunger, so that when said plunger is in its rearmost osition it 'acts -upon said inwardlyturne parts of the levers to throw theclutches lnto'operationforo eratin the flexible walls of thehoppe'r, as escribe S rin s 81 81fare interpose 0 operating levers and the side walls of the receiving-chamber which act to restore the clutch devices totheir inoperativepositions thereby permitting the flexible wallsfto return to their'normal positions by gravity, as before stated. At the time the plunger is inits rearmost osition" and the hop er is 0 en the charge of the material bein baled alls into the receiving-chamber in l ront ofthe lunger to be pressed into the baling-cham iier in the next advance movement of the plunger. The passage of the pinion 43'fr0m one row of gear-teeth 40 to the other provides a dwell of a sufiicient len th to permitthe required o eration of the exible side and botit omhwal s of the "hopper for the purpose set ort vided for positively forcing the charge of material from the hopper into the receivingchamber at the time the hopper is open. As

,75 between the said utc .As} a further improvement means are pro- 5 \i herein shown, said means comprise a vertically-movable plunger device 85 herein shown as made of wire bent in zigzag formand provided at its ends with arm's'86; hav ing oppositely-extending end portions 87,

which have guiding engagementwith rooves' I o 5 88, formed in vertical ars 89, locate one at each side of the hopper and fixed to the frame thereof in any suitable manner. plunger 85 is o erated to be depressed at a' time when the ottom of the hopper is open by mechanism'made as follows.

The said i 90 desi nate bars, which are fixed at whenthe flexible walls drop downwardly to Means are provided for the material being baled om the runway into the hopper during the feeding o eration of the said material through the eedway; This mechanism is illustrated more clearly in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 and is made as'follows: designates a transverse shaft mounted in fpositively raking suitable bearings 101, extending forwardly from the hopper-frame. The said shaft is rotated through the medium of a sprocketchain 102, Fig. .1 trained about a sprocketwheel 103, fixed to one end of said shaft, and another sprocket-wheel 104, rotatively mounted on a stud extending laterally from theframe of .the machine and connected by gear connections with one of the toothed or cogged disks 28, before referred'to. The said shaft 100 is provided with two short crank portions 105, located in the same plane, and with two other longer crank portions 106, located in the same plane with each other and at an-angle of one hundred and eighty degrees from the crank portions 105. 107 designates rake-bars,which are provided at their forward ends with rake teeth or claws 108 and archinged at their upper rear ends to the forward ends of links 109, which latter are hinged at their rear ends to the longer crank portions 106"-of the rotatiye shaft 100. 1 1 10 designate shorter links which are pivoted at their rear ends to the shorter crank portions of said shaft and at their forward ends to the said rake-bars intermediate to the ends of the latter. 111 111 designate springs which are attached at their.lower ends to said rake-bars 107 in front of the connections thereof with the shorter links .110 and at their upper ends to a bale-like frame 112, rising upwardly from the side boards of the feedway. Said springs exert 7 stress or pull on the rake-bars. With this construction when the shaft 100 is rotated the connection of said rake-bars with the crank-shaft, through the medium of the links V 109 and 110 thereof with the longer and shorter crank portions, respectively, of said shaft, operates to swing the lower or raking ends of said bars downwardly and rearwardly to rake the material from the feedway to the hopper and upwardly and forwardly to reengage the same with the body of material passing through the feedway. The rake members or claws 108 are shown as pivoted to the lower ends of the rake-bars, and springs 113,fixedto said bars and bearing on said claws, serve to holdthe same in a proper raking position relativel to the bars, while permitting the rake mem ers or claws to yield under the stress of the raking move ment. I

As a further improvement in machines of this character means are provided for temporarily retarding the movement of the material through the feedway at the time the hopper is open to discharge its contents intothe feed-chamber of the machine. The mechanism herein shown for producing this result is illustrated more clearly in Figs. 1 and 3 and is made as follows: 115 designates a rockshaft extending transversely across the feedway and supported in bearings fixedto the side walls of the feedway. Said rock-shaft is an upward provided with rigidly-affixed retarding-bars 1 16, normally occupying a substantially horizontal position, and is provided also with a crank-arm 117. Hinged to the upper end of said crank-arm 117 is a link 1 18 ,which extends forwardly and is hinged or loosely connected with an actuating-bar 119, Fig. 1, that extends downwardly at. one side of the inclined feed-chute, is pivoted thereto at 1 1 9, and is then turned under said chute into the path of the plunger-actuating rack 25 when the latter occupies its rearmost position, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. When, therefore, said rack and plunger are in their retractedpositions, the retarding-bars will be thrown downwardly to temporarily retard the feed of the hay so long as the hopper is opened and the plunger retracted. The rear end of the baling-chamber is laterally narrowed, as shown at 125, Fig. 2. Located in the angle between the narrow and wider portions of said chamber are vertical compressing or concentrating rollers 126, journaled in any suitable manner in the upper and lower walls of the baling or pressing chamber. Said rollers project slightly inside the planes of the walls of the narrower portion of said chamber. provided with a reduced advance end 24, which enters between said concentratingrollers into the narrower portion of the baling or pressing chamber. As herein shown, the said rollers are longitudinally corrugated and are rotated in a direction to compress the material that is forced between the same and The plunger 24 is direct it to the narrower portion of the 'chamber. The means for driving said rollers is shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 16 and is made as follows: 128. designates a rotary shaft located beneath the baling-chamber, mounted in suitable bearings 129, depending from the lower side of said chamber. Fixed to said transverse shaft are beveled pinions 130, that mesh with beveled pinions 131 131, attached to the lower ends of the shafts of said concentrating-rollers 126.v Said shaft 128 is driven from 'one of the horizontal operating-shafts 70 at the side of the machine (the shaft at the right hand of the machine as herein shown) through gear connections arranged as follows: The-said shaft 70 is provided with a sprocket-wheel 132, and power is transmitted therefrom through a sprocketchain 133 to a sprocket wheel 134,fixed to a short rotative shaft 135,"that is rotatively moilnted in a bearing 136, Fig. 1, attached to the side of the baling-ehamber. The said shaft 135 is provided with abeveled gearpinion 137, that meshes with a beveled gearpinion 138, fixed to the transverse shaft 128, before described. Preferably, also, a transversehorizontal roller extends across the top of the baling chamber at the narrowed portion thereof, F ig'. 3, and is mounted so as to be free to rotate in any suitable manner,

said roller operating in connection with the vertical concentrating rollers to facilitate the passage of the material being baled from the wider to the narrower portion of the 'bal said tying mechanism operates to automatically separate one bale from another without the employment of separation-blocks, as heretofore common. The operation of this mechanism' includes the threading of'the bindingwire horizontally across the baling-chambr in the-path ofthe material as it is formed ma bale. .The wire is fastened at one end at one side of the baling chamber and iswound about a suitable reel at its other end. As

chamber by hand and the end thereof fas- 85 the material being baled is accumulated and forced rearwardly by the plunger and takes the form of a bale the wire which ext-ends across the baling-chamberis forced ahead of the forming bale and the slack end of the wire g 5 is drawn into the chamber toforma loop inclosing the bale. and whoseside members a (1, Figs. 2, 6, and 7, lie against the inner sides of the baling-chamber w'all, while the end member extends transversely across the advance 0 end of the bale. In the present-instance the bale is confined by two vertically-separated binding-wires. Inasmuch, however, as the manner of applying both wires is identical,

' the description of one will serve for the description ofboth.

. After the first comleted the compressed material and the bin 'ng-wire surrounding the same occupy the position indicated in Fig. 2. After the 40 bale has been thus formed mechanism is set in motion to force the slack portion of the wire between the formed bale and the plunger to provide the transverse end portion a Figs. 6 and 7, which completes the bale-tie. 5 The forcing or threadin of the slack part of the wire between the ormed bale'and the plunger to produce the transverse end portionthat com letes the tie forms a loop, one member of w 'ch comprises the part a and 0 the other member the part a paralleltherewith, which when-severed fromthe part aFin a manner to be described is held at its free end and constitutes the fast end of the tie" or loop for the next bale to be formed. The member a when threaded through the baling-chamber is dis osed for a portion of its length parallel with thefast end of the constitutin :the tie or loop for the bale just formed, an mechanism is provided for twist- 6 ing the said parallel portions of the members a and a to produce the twist a, Fig. 7,

' which completes the bale-tie. Associated with the twisting meehanism hereinafter to be described and which, -so far as other feao 5 tures of the mechanismare concerned, may

.end of the member a becomes the fixed end bali'ng-chamber. normally in the position shown in Fig. 2,; swung away from bale has been practically ;be thrust inward be made of any suitable type is the means ,fdr I grasping and holding the free end of the member a so that when said memberc is severed from the twisted part the severed .7 of the wire. Thereafter as the next'bale is beingformed the completed bale is ushed rearwardly through the chamber to be discharged therefrom, and the member a of the wire accommodates itself to the formingbale 7 5 to produce a loop or tie that surrounds three sides of the bale and is completed after the formation of such bale by again threading I the slack portion of the wire across the balechamber and thereafter twisting the ends 80 of the completed tie inthe manner before stated,

In preparing the machine for formin the first bale the wire is threaded across thelialetened by the means hereinafterto be described. The means for thereafter threading the slack portions of the wire between a formed bale -and the plunger consists of threading-bars 150, hinged at their.,o

extending laterally om the side wall of the The said levers are held the baling-chamber, by spring1s1-53, interposed between said levers and t e side wall of said chamber." The side walls of the balin -chamber are providedwith horizontally-a 'ned openings 154 155, and the threadin fingers 150 are adapted to Ty through said openings by mechanism operating on the levers 151 to thread the slack portion of the wire across the balin -chamber, as; described. Theadvance en of the plunger is provided with horizontal grooves or recesses 155, through which the threading-fingers and the wire carried thereby pass, thereby preventing interference of said wire with the. adjacent end of too the completed bale and avoiding the use of separating-blocks to roperly separate the bales preparatory to t e;tying or binding operation. It will be observed thatthis operation occurs at a time when the plunger. is at the-limit of its stroke, and therack-andpinion actuating mechanism is such as to provide a suitable dwell at this time toafford the time required to thread the wire through the'baling chamber. A

It will be observed by reference of Figs. 1

and '15 that the wire is led from two reels [-shaped. notches- 161, Fig. 14, to insure I proper engagement thereof with the wire and to insure the threading of the slack portion of the wire through the chamber. Any suitable mechanism may be employed to operate thelthreading-finger levers for the purpose tate on the adjacent shaft and is locked thereto by a clutch 168, which slides endwise of. the shaft toward and from the cam-sleeve, and said sleeves are provided on their adjacent ends with clutch-teeth, which are brought into mesh at the appropriate time to lock the cam to .the rotative shaft, and thereby operate said threading-fingers. As a furthe and separate improvement in my improved machine the said clutch is thrown into action by mechanism controlled by the completion of the bale, the same being made as follows: 170 designates a timing-wheelfixed to a shaft 171, that extends transversely above the baling-chamber and has bearing in standards 17 2, rising therefrom. The said timing-wheel or disk is provided with peripheral teeth 173 and extends through a slot in the top wall of the balingchamb er for engagement of said teeth with the compressed material being baled. Fixed to one end of said shaft 171 at the side of the machine adjacent to the threading-fingers is a cam-disk 174. Said.

cam is engaged by the bearing-roller of an endwise-reciprocating cam-'bar 175, that has guidin engagement with a guide 176, fixed to the aling-chamber, and said bar is turned downwardly at its other end for engagement with a groove of the cam-sleeve 168. The cam operates to bring said clutch into action,

and a spring 177, surrounding said bar and interposed between a shoulder 178 thereon and the guide-bearing, operates to restore the clutch to its normal inoperative position. The'timing-wheel is operated step by step by enga ement of the pressed material with the peripheral teeth thereof, agd when a given uantity of the compres'se material passes t ereunder the wheel and its shaft 171 are rotated to bring the cam-disk 174 in position to actuate the cam 167, which controls the operation of the wire-threading fingers 150. The parts referred to are so timed that the fingers are forced inwardly to thread the tie-wire across the baling-chamber just before the plunger has completed its inward stroke, and the cam 174 releases the cam-bar 175 just after the threading operation, at which time the spring 153 returns the parts to their normal inoperative positions. The timing wheel or disk 170 also controls the operation of the twistin mechanism, which latter mechanism wil now be described. 190 191 desi nate of the machine, one opposite to each of the openin s 155' on this side of the machine. The said disks are provided with inwardlyextending annular rims 192, provided at their inner margins with narrow radial annular flanges 193, which bear against the adjacent wall of the baling-chamber. The said disks are mounted on said chamber-wall by means permitting them to rotate about their axes by a two-part plate 194, which overlaps said flanges 193 and are formed to provide annular bearings for the flanges 193 to permit the disks to rotate, as stated. The disks are provided with intermeshin peripheral ear-teeth, whereby one of the dis s is rotated om the other. One of said disks (the disk 190 as herein shown) is driven from the adjacent horizontal shaft 70 by the following device: The said disk 190 is provided with an outwardly-directed annular flange 195, having laterally-facing annularly-arranged gear-teeth 196, Figs. 8, 9, and 10. The said gear-teeth mesh with a worm-gear 197, nonrotatively fixed" to a sleeve 198, mounted on and sliding endwise of the shaft 70. The said worm-gear 197 is keyed to said sleeve, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, whereby the sleeve may slide endwise therein. The sleeve 198 is provided at one end with clutch-teeth which mesh with clutch-teeth formed on a collar 199, fixed to the shaft. When the sleeve is clutched to said collar, therefore,

rotary movement of said shaft is.imparted to the disk 190 throu h the worm-and-gearconnection" describe The clutch-sleeve is moved endwise to bring the clutch elements into enga ement through the medium of a cam 200, ed on the shaft 171, Fig. 9, and a cam-lever 201, pivoted at 202 to the adjacent side wall of the baling-chamber. The upper end of said lever is provided with a pin 203, that travels in the groove of said cam, and the lower end of the lever is forked and hinged to a grooved collar 204, formed on a reduced part of the sleeve 198. The cam 200 is so timed relatively to the cam 174, that con-. trols the operation of the stringing-fingers,

that the said fingers are operated in advance of the disks 190 and 1.91. The said disks are provided with central openings 205, Fig. 10,

located in lateral alinement with the open-- ings 155 of the side wall of the baling-chamber. The said openings 205 are horizontally elongated and are formed with lateral recesses 206. Pivoted to the outer faces of %said disks are spring-pressed holding-dogs 207 207, located one hundred and eighty degrees apart and having inner curved ends which extend across the lateral extensions or recesses 206 of the openings 205 and between which and the walls of said recesses the members of the binding-wire are held, as shown in Fig. 10 and as hereinafter described. The said dogs are provided with ins 210 210,

rotative disks located at the right-ban side which extend inwardly throug curved slots 211, formed in "said disks. Said pins 'are 1 away from the lateral extension of the opening. Located laterally inside said disks are the wire-twisting devices. The form of twisting device herein shown einbracesaplate 215, having agene'ral circula contour and provided at one side with a V-shaped notch 216. The said twisting-plates are formed with hol-' low shanks 217, F1g. 12, rotatively mounted in recesses or lateral extensions of the openings 155. The V-shaped notches open normally toward the openings 155. Said twist- -1 -chamber.

ing-plates are peripherally toothed and mesh with gear-pinions 218, rotatively mounted on studs 219, fixed in the side walls of said balna annularv racks 220, formed on the inner cylindric faces of the flanges 192 of the disks 190 191. Rotation of said disks thereforeimparts relative movement to the twistingplates;

bale the slack portion of the wire forms thelooped tie in the'manner stated. When the bale is formed, the fingers 150 thread the loop consisting of the members a a through the baling-chamber and through the openings 155 and 205. The parts are so timed that at this time the holding-dog 207is swung down by engagement of the in 2 10 thereof w th the tripping-stud 212. he wire 0. therefore passes into one of the lateral extensions of the opening .205 of the holding-disk. The position of said members of the wires relatively to the twisting-plate is shown in Fig.

11, the member a? being in the bottom of the V-shaped notch of said plate, the member a in the open part ofsaid notch, and the member a at the side of the opening 155 remote I from the twisting-plate.

The looped Wire com osed of the members a a is thrust beyond t e rotating disks 190 191- andare engaged .with holdmg-detents 225, pivoted to the vertical parts of over hanging arms 226, Figs. 9,14, and 15. The

- said detents swing outwardly when engaged by the ends of said fingers or the wire -carried thereby. The said-fingers are provided-at their ends with recesses 227, and when the wires stretched across the ends of said fingers and the notches thereof reach the outward limit of their movement the detents drop the recess engaged by the member 03.

Said pinions mesh with interbackwardly-into the said recesses 227 and be hind'the transverse member of said wire loop, whereby the loop is held in place while permitting the fingers to retire. After the fingers have retired from said disks the clutch mechanism is set in operation to rotatethe disks from the ositions shown in Fi s. 10 and 11 in the dlrection indicated by t e arrow in Fig. 10, with the result of twisting the member a around the member a to produce the twist of. As the disk 190 rotates the member a of the wire is moved to the positio n formerly occupied by the member a,

While the lateral extension or recess formerly occupied by the member a. is angularly moved to the position formerly occupiep) by uring such rotation of the disk the twistingplate is rotated 21 number oftimes to effect the required twisting of the wire to produce the twist. During such rotation of the disks the pin 210 of the dog 207, carried thereby, strikes the coacting tripping-lug 212, which throws the end of the dog away from the central opening of said disk, as shown in dotted lines in Fi 10. .At this time another loop of the tie is t eaded'througg the balingchamber and disk and the mem er a. of said loop is free to enter the lateral recess of the o ening 205, located in position to receive tl ie same, and after said members of the loop have been placed and the threading-finger retires the locking-dog is released from the stud 212 and swings to the ositionshown in full lines in Fig. 10 to lock t e member a. between the same and the walls of the associated notch or recess 206. It will-thusbe seen that what has been termed the fixed end of the wire is held .in place during .the formation of the bale, while the slack end thereof is drawn shaped bale-tie.

bearing against the outer faces of the twisting-plates 215, thereby acting with a shearing effect against said plates. After 'ii'the twist has been severed in the manner stated the tied bale is free to be pushed ahead of-the next bale as it is formed.

As a further improvement the bales are discharged from the balingrchambe'r through a chute235, extending rearwardly and upwardly from the. rear end' of-said chamber.

long as desired, which supplements the baling pressure of the plunger.

It will :be understood that the construction into the baling-chamber to form the looped- This arrangement effects a back pressure of the bales in the'chute, which may be made as of my improvements in the various parts of themachine described and that said invention is not limited to such construction exce t as hereinafter made the subject of speci claims hereto appended.

I claim as my invention 1. In a baling-press, the combination with -the balingchamber, the receiving-chamber andthe plunger, of a hopper located above the receiving-chamber, a feedway arranged centrally of the machine and opening into the hopper, a conveyer for continuously feeding material to be baled through said feedway to the hopper, a hinged retarding-' arm mounted on a pivot located above the Ifeedway in front of the hopper and means for swinging said retarding-arm downwardly into the feedway in the path of'the material through said' feedway for the purpose set forth.

2. In a baling-press, the combination with the baling-chamber, the receiving-chamber, the plunger, a rack-bar pivoted to the plunger and extending forwardly therefrom, and a pinion engaging the rack-bar to reciprocate the plunger, of a hopper located above the receiving-chamber, a feedway arranged cen' trally of the machine and opening into the hopper, a conveyor for continuously feeding material to be baled through said feedway, a hinged retarding device mounted above the feedway and means operated by the rack-bar when the plunger is in its retracted position for swinging said retarding device into the feedway for the purpose set forth.

3. In a baling-press, a hopper provided with flexible side walls, the latter provided with lower terminal parts which constitute the bottom of the chamber, and are adapted to be separated to open the hopper-bottom by movement of the flexible wal s upwardly, means for moving the side walls upwardly and guides for said flexible walls and terminal parts thereof.

4. In a baling-press, the combination with a baling-chamber, a receiving-chamber and a plunger, of a hopper located above said receiving-chamber andprovided with a'bottom to temporarily close the hopper comprising two members arranged to slide horizontally away from each other to open the hopper, horizontal guides for said members, .and

"means for actuating the members to slide the same away from each other.

5. In a baling-presS, the combination with the balin -chamber, the receiving-chamber and the p unger, of a hopper located above said receiving-chamber and provided ,with a movable bottom to close the lower end of the ho per, means for feeding material to be baied into said hopper, and means controlled by the plunger for moving the bottom wall of 4' the hopper outwardly for opening the hopper t0 the receivingchamber.

6. Ina baling-press, the combination with" herein shown is illustrative of the application the baling-chamber, the .receiving-ch'amber and the plunger, of a hopper located above said receiving-chamber provided with flexible side walls having guiding engagement with the frame of the hopper, said flexible side walls having terminal parts which constitute the bottom of the hopper and mechanism for raising said side walls and thereby shifting th e terminal parts thereof to open the 7 5 hopper to the receiving-chamber.

7. In a baling-press, the combination with the baling-chamber, the receiving-chamber and the plunger, of a hopper located above said receiving-chamber provided with flexible side Walls having guiding engagement with the frame of the ho per, said flexible side walls having termina parts which constitute the bottom of the hop 'er, mechanism for raising said side Walls an thereby shifting the terminal parts thereof to 0 en the hop er to the receiving-chamber, an means for orcing'the material from the hopper to the receiving-chamber whenthe hopper is open. n

8. In a balingress, the combination with the balin ham er, the receiving-chamber and the p unger, of a hopper located above said receiving-chamber provided with flexible side walls having guiding enga ement with the frame of the ho per, said exible side walls having termina parts which constitute the bottom of the hopper, mechanism for raising said side walls and thereby shifting the terminal parts thereof to 0 en the hopper to the receiving-chamber, an a plunplunger, of means for reciprocating the plunger comprising a bar loosely connected at its rear end with the plunger and having risingand-falling movement .at its forward end, said rack-bar being provided with 'upper and lower rows of teethfwhich are connected at the ends of the bar by curved connecting series ofteeth, and a rotative inion meshing with said teeth and designed or engagement alternately with said-upper and lower rows.

1 1. In a balin -press, the combination with a horizonta baling-chamber and its plunger, of means for reciprocating the plunger com rising a bar loosely connected at its rear en with the plunger and havingaris'ingand-falling movement at its forward end, said with the disk at the aperturev thereof, a, notched rotative twisting-plate located laterbar being provided upper and lower connected with the plunger for reciprocating the latter, and a pinion engaging said rack.

13. Ina self-binding baling-press, means for forming the bale, means for, forming the binding-wire about the bale as it is being formed, and means for twisting the wire ends together eomprisin an apertured rotative disk, means for ho ding the wire ends engaged with the-disk at the aperture thereof, and a notched rotative twisting-plate located laterally inside of said disk for twisting one end of the wire upon the other.

14. In a self-binding.baling-press, means for forming the bale, means for forming the binding-wire about the bale as it is being formed, and means for twisting the wire ends together comprising an apertured rotative disk, means for holding the wire ends engaged ally inside of said disk for twisting one end of the wire upon the other, and means for severing the twisted parts of the wire.

"15. In a self-binding baling-press, means for forming the bale, means for forming the binding-wire about the bale-as it is being formed, and means for twisting the wire ends together comprisin a rotatlve apertured plate, means ,.for ho ding the wire ends engaged with said plate at the apertured thereof. and a rotative twisting plate located laterally inslde of said disk and provided with. a notch adapted to receive one of the wire ends for the purpose set forth.

16. In a self-binding baling-press, means for form ng the bale, means for forming the binding-wire about the bale as it is being formed including a rotative apertured disk throu h which a loop of the tying-wire is, passe means carried by the disk for holding the ends of the b1nding-wire, a threading-bar for threading the wire through theaperture of said disk, means for holding the threaded wire assed by said bars laterally outside of the disk, means located'laterally inside of said apertured disk for twisting the looped threaded wire with the fast end of the wire,

and means for severing the twisted part of the wire.

17-. In a self-binding baling-press, means for forming the bale, an apertured rotative for engage a said rack or reciprocating the p disk located at one side of the balingcham ber, means for threading a looped wire across the path of a forming bale comprising a threading-bar having a notch at its end engaging said wire and which passes through the a erture of said disk, a detent outside of said disk for holding the looped portionof the wire after the threading-bar has retired, means carried by the rotative disk for holding fixed one end of-the tying-Wire, means for twisting one member of the threaded loop portion and the fixed end of the wire, and means for severing the wire at the twisted portion thereof. i

18. In a self-binding baling-press, means for forming the bale, a rotative apertured disk located at one sideof the baling-chamber and provided with oppositely-(lispr)sed notches at the aperture thereof, means carried bythe disk for holding fixed one end of the wire, means for threading a looped portion of the wire across the path of the bale throu h said aperture in the disk, means where y one member .of said loop is held e11 gaged with said disk at its aperture, means for twisting one member of the loop with the fast end of the wire, and means for thereafter severing the wire at the twist thereof.

19. Ina self-binding baling-press, means for forming the bale inthe baling-chamber, a rotative apertured disk located at one side of .the baling-chamber and provided with oppositely-disposed notches or recesses, a dog carried by said disk and operating to hold one end ofthe wire fast in one of said notches, means for threading a looped portion of the slack end of'the wire through the aperture of the disk, a second dog acting to hold one member of said loop fixed to the rotative disk in the other notch, a twisting device for twistin one member of the loop with the fast en of the wire, and means for severing the wire at the twist thereof.

with abaling-ehamber, an inclined conveyer for conveying the material to he baled to said chamber, and a plunger in the balingchamber, of a rack loosely connected with the plunger for reciprocating the plunger in both directions, and a pinion engaging said rack, said conveyor .being incline( downwardly and rearwardl from the press, and the rack when swtng ackwardly extending at its rear end below said co'nveyer.

21. In a baling-press, the combination with the baling-chamber and its plunger, of a shaft extending transversely of the press in rear of said chamber, a drive-shaft operatively connected with said first shaft at its end outside of the frame of thewpress for rotating the latter, a pinion carried centrallyby said first shaft and a rack-bar hinged to the plunger and provided with twosets of teeth ada ted for alternate engagement by unger.

22. In a baling- 'ress', the combination with a balin g-cham er, a receiving-chamber and a plunger of a hopper located above the receiving-chamber, a feedway arranged cen- 23. In a self-binding baling-jaress, means I for forming the bale. in the bale-chamber thereof, a rotative apbrtured disk located at one side of the "bale, means for holding one end of the binding-wire fast to said disk at the aperture thereof, means for threading the slack portion of the wire in the form of a loop through the apertureof the disk, means for engaging one member of said loop to hold it fast tosaid disk, a rotative twistingplate located between the balingchamber and said apertured disk provided with a notch for engaging said fast end of the wire and one of the members of said loop fortwisting the wire, and means for severing the wire at the twist thereof. v 1 L24. In a self-binding baling ress, means for forming the bale in the ba ing-chamber thereof, means for making fast one end of the o1binding-wire extending across the path" of 'the forming bale, a threading-bar provided 7 U at its end with a horizontal and a vertical notch adapted to engage the slack end of the binding-wire to thread the wire in looped form throu h the chamber, a swinging detent located at't e side of the chamber for engaging the looped part of the wire to hold the same after the threading-bar has retired, means for twisting the fast ,end of said wire to one member of the loop, and means for severing the twisted portion of the wire.

25. In a baling-press, a baling-chamber which is reduced between its ends, combined with a reciprocating lunger that has a ri idly united reduced advance end that exten s into the reduced portion of the chamber.

26. In a baling-press, a baling-chamber which is reduced between its ends, combined with a reciprocating plunger that has a reduced advance end that extends into the reduced portion of the chamber, and rollers 10- cated in said chamber at the reduced portions thereof for the ur ose set forth.

In testimony that I "claim the foregoing as my invention 1 afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this2d day. of April, A. D. 1906.

AUGUSTQE. MULLER Witnesses:

A. M. BURR, GEORGE R. WILKINS. 

